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Physical exercise training appears effective for low to moderate patients assigned to cardiac rehabilitation. However, adherence to cardiac rehabilitation is low and physical activity levels often drop after attending the last supervised rehabilitation session.

This study will compare home based physical exercise training including telemonitoring with regular centre based physical exercise training. Main outcome measures are the change in physical activity and the change in physical fitness (peak Oxygen uptake) after the initial rehabilitation period (12 weeks) and after 1 year. Secondary outcome measures are cost-effectiveness, training adherence, health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction.

Condition or disease

Intervention/treatment

Acute Coronary SyndromeMyocardial Infarction

Behavioral: Home-based trainingBehavioral: Centre-based training

Detailed Description:

Physical training has beneficial effects on exercise capacity, cardiac function, quality of life and mortality in patients with acute cardiovascular syndrome or after cardiac surgery and is therefore one of the main aspects of cardiac rehabilitation. However, adherence to this therapy is low and effects tempt to decrease directly after the treatment period.

12-week training program (24-36 one-hour sessions) at 70-85% of their maximal heart rate (HR). In the CT group training is supervised by a physical therapist; in the HT group training is performed in the home environment using a HR monitor to determine training intensity and with weekly feedback / motivation by an exercise specialist who has access to the online HR-data. After 12 weeks, subjects in the HT group are encouraged to continue using the HR monitor.

Exercise training performed by patients after Acute Coronary Disease (ACS) and revascularization, classified as low to moderate risk, is considered to be safe. The training program that will be used in this study has been evaluated in a similar population of elderly cardiac patients without any documented harmful effects. In order to reduce potential risks of exercise training all patients perform a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test at baseline, excluding patients with myocardial ischaemia and ventricular arrhythmias during exercise. The first three training sessions will be under supervision of trained physiotherapist in a clinical setting. The patients will receive a heart rate monitor and accelerometer to use at home. These monitors are developed and optimized to cause minimal physical discomfort and are non-invasive. During the measurement periods, all patients are asked to wear the monitors continuously for 5 days and to note the physical activities performed. The HT group will use the HR monitors during their physical trainings as well.

After the first three supervised training sessions in the hospitals, patients in the home-based training group are instructed to wear a heart rate monitor during exercise training at home. Prescribed exercise exists of two or three exercise sessions per week, of one hour at 70 - 85% of their maximum heart rate.

Once a week the heart rate data is uploaded and evaluated by an exercise specialist together with the patient by telephone.

Behavioral: Home-based training

Home-based exercise training for cardiac patients.

Other Names:

Homebased exercise training

Home-based cardiac rehabilitation

Active Comparator: Centre-based training

Patients in the centre-based training group will perform all trainings sessions under direct supervision of a physical therapist specialized in CR. Training sessions will be performed on an cycle ergometer, starting with a warm up phase of 5 min, followed by 50 min of cycling at 70-85% of the maximal HR and a cooling down period of 5 min. During the training period, physical therapists will record attendance, training duration and actual training intensity. After the 12-week training period patients receive individual advice from their physical therapist on physical activities.

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